Alien

Think fall and you think falling leaves. It's winter, and of course, you're thinking snow. Spring springs, and you see blooming flowers in your mind. But what then about summer? You say beach, I say mountains. You say summer sun, I say the cool of the pool. But we can find room for agreement on one of the essential signs of summer. What is a summer without a carnival? Ah, yes. Those Springsteen nights of neon lights against the sky. The irresistible blend of grease and sugar, fat and flavor in the funnel cakes.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie emphasized bipartisan accomplishments not his Republican roots in running up a big victory Tuesday, setting the stage for a potential presidential run in 2016. But it is one thing to underemphasize his party affiliation while running in a Democratic state, and quite another to navigate between the parties on the national stage. As governor, Christie has taken positions that have drawn voters from all ranks, but he has also taken positions likely to alienate both sides.

Dr. Stephen K. Klasko's science fiction novel, "The Phantom Stethoscope," got an alien thumbs up in the June 7 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. "This refreshing book is a welcome exception" to the flood of books, essays and articles with a biased opinion about what happened to the practice of medicine and where the business side should be headed, wrote Dr. William A. Sodeman Jr. of the Medical College of Ohio and University of Toledo School of Law. Klasko was thrilled.

— The news release from Rep. Daryl Metcalfe said: "State Government Committee to Consider Proposals to Halt PA's Illegal Alien Invasion. " But because of The Great Recession, the flow of undocumented immigrants into the United States has fallen sharply, a September 2010 report by the Pew Hispanic Center shows. And Pennsylvania, a Top 10 state by population, doesn't make the Top 12 states with large populations of illegal immigrants. Still, Metcalfe, a Butler County Republican and chairman of the state government panel, opened two days' of hearings Tuesday on more than a dozen bills that would, among other things, sanction employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants, and require people to show proof of citizenship to qualify for public benefits.

"It's definitely a dance," said Don Horton, an Allentown resident and a performer in "An Alien Lunch - An Edible Operetta." Dan Froot, creator of the work that was presented yesterday afternoon as part of this weekend's Mayfair festivities, preferred to call it a "performance spectacle." "While I consider all movement dance, I think that if you call something dance it sets up a certain expectation that will not be necessarily satisfied with this performance," Froot said in a recent interview.

Those of you who read my column a week ago Saturday will not be surprised to learn that I am rather unpopular in Tamaqua at the moment. The column reported that I could find no signs of UFO activity in the area, suggested that there was an alien conspiracy afoot, praised the ice cream at Leiby's and made an intemperate remark about the aliens' bad luck in traveling billions of light years in search of intelligent life and ending up in Tamaqua....

Broadway Pizza in Bethlehem faces a fine for hiring an illegal alien, according to an official from the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Lyle L. Karn, INS district director in Philadelphia, announced yesterday that the pizzeria at 1798 Broadway will be fined $1,000 for hiring an unauthorized alien and $700 for failing to complete required paperwork for employees under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. The restaurant can pay the fine or request a hearing before an administrative law judge.

"Alien^3" is a high-tech haunted house for the summer movie crowd. Like an amusement park attraction, it has thrills and chills. But like cotton candy, it leaves you with a film of goo and a hunger for more. We didn't log the creature's screen time, but we seem to see less of the Alien this time around. When we do it's a disgusting sight not only because of the goo, but because of the gore as the evil thing dispatches its victims. Facing the Alien's wrath are prisoners at the Double Y Chromosome Correctional Facility on Fiorina 161, a desolate prison planet.

Freedom ended for an illegal alien Wednesday night when he allegedly failed to stop for a stop sign. Benjamin Candelario, 19, of 1154 Dover Lane, who has allegedly been living illegally in the country for two years, was stopped at 11:51 p.m. by Patrolman Derron Henning for running a stop sign at E. 3rd and Evans streets. He did not have a driver's license and gave Henning his resident alien card to prove his identification. Henning noted the card appeared to be a fake because the picture was raised, the fingerprint was too small and blurry and the Feb. 29, 1976, date of birth did not match the Feb. 29, 1975, date that Candelario gave as his birthdate.

'COWBOYS AND ALIENS' OPENS FRIDAY The cure for a movie that could easily come off as a cheesy B-flick? Stuff the cast with brawny, tough, well-known actors. We've got Daniel Craig as the lead cowboy joined by Sam Rockwell, Paul Dano, Harrison Ford, Keith Carradine and Clancy Brown. "Cowboys and Aliens" — which also features a screenplay from "Lost's" Damon Lindelof — picks up with our hard scrabble heroes as a alien spacecraft crash lands in their Western town. 'CATHERINE' DEBUTS TUESDAY Tired of the same old shoot-em-ups?

If Angelina Jolie ever gets tired of kicking butt and taking names, Ali Larter would be more than happy to take over as the Queen of Tough. Her dream role, she says, is to play "the female Jason Bourne" and to provide "grainy, gritty, naturalistic thrills" in an all-out action extravaganza. The Cherry Hill, N.J., native whose parents live in Upper Macungie Township has had plenty of practice decimating the bad guys as the super-charged single mom Niki Sanders on TV's "Heroes.

Most people grow up able to eat whatever looks good — doughnuts, pizza, fast-food. What if those favorite foods you've been gorging down every weekend begin to make you incredibly sick? Quickly the comfort food you've come to love and depend on becomes a distant stranger and enemy. This is a serious reality for thousands of Americans, including me. Living with a food allergy is a life-altering condition requiring constant attention. The more knowledge the public has, the easier it is for those suffering to live with it. Food allergies are not always present at birth and can surface or be triggered at any time.

By Amy Longsdorf SPECIAL TO THE MORNING CALL - Freelance | August 20, 2009

What on earth is going on with "Alien Trespass"? The film, recently arrived on DVD, is part send-up and part homage to '50s sci-fi flicks like "The Blob" and "It Came From Outer Space." "X-Files" honcho R.W. Goodwin directs the flick, which stars Eric McCormack ("Will & Grace") as an astronomer whose body is borrowed by a kindly alien on a mission to protect earthlings from rubbery, bug-eyed slime things. "Alien Trespass" is basically a one-joke movie but if you've seen "The Day The Earth Stood Still" more than once, you'll enjoy the ride.

Just east of Bethlehem's Sand Island, Dennis Scholl noticed something that made him smile this spring underneath the expansive cover of an old sycamore tree. Virginia bluebells. The delicate bluish petals of the native flower bloomed, a sign that his two years of work to restore a section of the historic Lehigh Canal towpath had come to fruition. In this strip along the 180-year-old canal, volunteers have been weeding invasive species, which had been choking out the natives and obscuring any view of the Lehigh River.

A man police said was an illegal alien from El Salvador was arrested Friday after Allentown police served a search warrant and found more than one ounce of cocaine worth more than $3,000. Carlos Hennriquez, 38, who also told police he lives in New York City, was arrested after uniformed and vice officers searched 533 Gordon St. at about 10:45 a.m. Lt. Andrew Wiesner said police also found a quantity of auto mechanic tools believed to be stolen in western Pennsylvania, and a loaded rifle with a scope on it, also believed stolen.

As we look forward to Heritage Day in Easton on Sunday, having waxed eloquent about our personal freedoms during the July 4 holiday, questions about the treatment of today's immigrants should be examined. Are they treated as we would want to be treated as immigrants? One aspect is what happens to alien children who enter this country without parents or guardians. Amnesty International recently found that these children have terrible experiences in our hands. A third of them land in secure juvenile detention centers; strip searches and solitary confinement for discipline are practiced; some are shackled, and communication with those who can help them is difficult.

By Amy Longsdorf Special to The Morning Call - Freelance | March 8, 2009

As if roles in "Sin City," "Spy Kids" and TV's "Threshold" weren't enough to make Carla Gugino a patron saint of comic book geeks, she's now starring in two March movies that seem destined to turn her into the ultimate fanboy pin-up. In "Watchmen," now playing in theaters, Gugino embraces superhero chic to play Silk Spectre, an aging crimebuster who's eager for her daughter (Malin Akerman) to continue in the family business. For Gugino, playing Silk Spectre was something of a dream come true.

The truth might be right here instead of out there. An attention-grabbing surge in the number of unidentified flying objects reported in this region helped spur a record 312 such sightings in Pennsylvania last year. Because of that, hundreds of alien-enthusiasts will gather this weekend in Bucks County -- the apparent epicenter of all that astral activity -- to discuss otherworldly abductions, human-alien hybrids and other hard-to-fathom phenomena. John Ventre, director of the Pennsylvania Mutual UFO Network and an organizer of Saturday's conference, said the skepticism that once confronted such stories seems to be receding, particularly in this region.